New York Court of Appeals
Ellen Burns, by Elisha W. Chester, Her Guardian, Appellant v. Charles Erben and Thomas Frost, Respondents
June 12, 186940 N.Y. 463
Summary
The Court affirmed the nonsuit, holding that a private individual's arrest is justified only when a felony has actually been committed and there is reasonable ground to suspect the arrestee, and that this question of probable cause is a matter of law, not for the jury. The concurrence agrees with this reasoning.